


Envoys of the Sn’Drathi

by VagabondDiesel



Category: Free!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Arabian Nights Fusion, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Splash Free, Arabian AU, Arabian!AU, Gen, Harm to Animals, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 04:28:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5525366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VagabondDiesel/pseuds/VagabondDiesel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Through vision still clouded with sleep, he could make out the brilliant azure of the sky and the gloss of inlaid wood and leather to either side. The wind howled around them, broken breeze keeping them cool despite the heat of the midday sun. Riding leathers creaked with every gentle swell, sending the hanging ornaments of the howdah swaying with musical chimes. </i>
  <br/>
  <i>It was a familiar scene and one that he had come to know well over the years. Haruka had never invested in a house or owned a bed that he could call his own, but here, beneath the embroidered canopy with wares piled high at his back - this was a place that he could call home. </i>
  <br/>
  <i>His gaze drifted over to the scarlet locks that had escaped the confines of their bindings to drift like ribbons in the current. Rin was moving away already, his attention caught by some matter that needed his attention. </i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Envoys of the Sn’Drathi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jui](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jui/gifts).



      “Haru. Hey, Haru”  
      Through vision still clouded with sleep, he could make out the brilliant azure of the sky and the gloss of inlaid wood and leather to either side. The wind howled around them, broken breeze keeping them cool despite the heat of the midday sun. Riding leathers creaked with every gentle swell, sending the hanging ornaments of the howdah swaying with musical chimes.   
      It was a familiar scene and one that he had come to know well over the years. Haruka had never invested in a house or owned a bed that he could call his own, but here, beneath the embroidered canopy with wares piled high at his back - this was a place that he could call home.   
      His gaze drifted over to the scarlet locks that had escaped the confines of their bindings to drift like ribbons in the current. Rin was moving away already, his attention caught by some matter that needed his attention.   


      “Hey, Haru,” he continued, loosening a metal binder to free up space for the trailing end of the strap that he had just pulled into a neat roll. The iron gears ratcheted as he tightened the binder again, pinching the bound loop of fabric tight against the load.   
      “We should be there in a few hours time. Before sundown, if we have any luck. Hey, are you listening?”  
      Haru tilted his neck to catch his companion in his peripheral vision, humming disinterestedly to communicate his consciousness. Several hours was a long time.   
      “Come lay with me.”  
      “What? It’s midday. We’re moving.”  
      “U’thar will find the way,” Haruka dismissed. “You can be spared from your duties for the time being.”  
      Matsouka didn’t need much convincing. He sank heavily into the cushions beside Haruka, gathering him into his arms as he did so. The combination of rocking of their mount and the familiar body next to him had a narcotic effect, and it wasn’t long before he succumbed to the weariness pulling at the fringes of his mind.  


\-------------------------------------------------------------

      “Nine gods, you sleep as if you were drugged.”  
      The sun had set without his noticing, bathing the landscape around them in shadows. The brass lanterns hanging from the cross beams had been lit, casting flickering blue light over their figures.   
      “I was beginning to think that I would have to carry you into town.”  
      Haru sat up and stretched, squinting into the darkness as if it held the answer to some divine mystery.   
      “How much further?”  
      “It shouldn’t be much longer. We’re coming up on an oasis town - Nepthede, if my memory serves correctly. We’ll stop there for water and after that, the capitol shouldn’t be much more than three days out.”  
      “Hm,” Haru agreed. “And U’thar will want to hunt.”  
      “It has been a long time. I’m sure she’s hungry.”  


      Haruka rose to stand at the front of the howdah, not flinching when an arm snaked around his waist to pull him closer to the body beside him. His gut plummeted as their mount crested an enormous dune before descending in a headlong rush down the opposite side, sinuous body cutting through the sand like a fish swimming through water.   
      The far horizon was illuminated with an amber glow, the lights of hundreds of flickering lamps polluting the darkness. The grip around Haruka’s waist tightened.       “Welcome to Nepthede.”  


\-------------------------------------------------------------

      “What? That exchange rate is absurd! This would be more than enough to live like royalty for weeks in Q’var.”  
      Rin’s agitated protests fell unheeded on the clerk sitting across from them.   
      “Our tariff system is more complex, not to mention that the closest country that honors Andul currency is a month’s trip by caravan. I’d be running at a loss if I went any lower.”  
      Rin crossed his arms over his chest standoffishly. “Then what currency would you rather trade in?”  
      “Drachminian coin,” the clerk fired back without a moment’s hesitation. Rin’s eyebrow twitched as an incredulous expression began to spread across his features. Haruka laid a palm on his companion’s shoulder in a restraining manner.   
      “Two hundred Es’tar silvers should amount to roughly four thousand of your lang according to your rates, correct?”  
      The moneychanger flipped disinterestedly through the rate book. “Correct, but-”  
      “Then that is our offer.” Haruka cut off. The clerk’s expression shadowed. “I’ll have to check the tariffs on that. Es’tar silvers are not a favored currency in these regions, and I simply can’t give you the rate on raw silver for them, so four thousand lang is likely to be a very - ah, ambitious, amount. In fact, after that,” the moneychanger trailed off. “You’re looking at about twenty three hundred.”  
      “Es’tar silver has the sanction of the Manalian Empire, does it not? They have exclusive rights to the tariff through trade contracts with this country, as you full well know. No additional charges should apply to the changeover.”  
      The clerk stammered indignantly. “And what would you know of that, foreigner? The rate I’m offering you is generous enough for outlanders like you.”  


      Haruka’s eyes darkened as he absentmindedly spun one of his rings around to reveal a crest of a double-headed lion against a rising sun. The clerk paled visibly upon catching sight of it.   
      “Do not test me on this, moneychanger. Four thousand lang as according to the exchange rates, with the full rights and protections of merchants along with that.”  
      “Merchant’s rights!” the clerk exclaimed. “Those protections alone are worth twelve hundred lang. Don’t be absurd.”  


      “Tell me,” Rin interjected cooly. “Are you familiar with the fine for illicit practices? You know, the kind entailing imaginary tariffs and violation of international trade agreements?”  
      He leaned closer, exposing his filed teeth in a rictus grin. “They cut off your hands. Among other equally unpleasant things. You’re likely to be barred from operating a business for life, if they ever released you from imprisonment. Judgement of such things would fall under the jurisdiction of the Manalian Empire, and they aren’t known to be forgiving.”  
      The clerk’s hands clenched into fists.   
      “Consider this your first and final warning,” Haruka picked up, arranging his garments in preparation to leave. “You can expect follow up on this incident from our trade officials, and they will not be so kind as to identify themselves as such. I would carefully re-evaluate your business practices, if I were you. Unless, of course, you have a particular aversion to possessing hands.”  


\-------------------------------------------------------------

      Rin plucked a small sheet of embossed paper from the bundle in his hand to scrutinize it. The marketplace was calming from the frenzy of the morning rush as the citizens took shelter from the sweltering rays of the desert sun.  
      “First it was tin coins, and now this?” he was saying, flapping the currency childishly. “Really, how could a person find value in this? I’d take gold or silver over this waste paper any day.”  
      “Rin.”  
      His companion sighed, tucking the bill back in with the rest of them. They had more than enough time to replenish their supplies, given the fact that U’thar’s hunt was likely to last the day and extend into the night.   


      “Oh, I see you’ve already packed up for the day?”  
      “My apologies,” Rin began, standing to address the duo before them. It was difficult to define the gender of the first, given the contradiction of blonde hair cropped short and the revealing way the gauzy silks of their garments were draped over their slender frame. The second appeared to be an attendant of some sort between the uniformed style of his clothes and the scimitar sheathed at his hip.   
      “These goods are not the sort that we are at liberty to trade in this region,” Rin continued. The young noble was crestfallen.   
      “Ah! What a shame. It’s so seldom that we see foreign traders in these parts.”  
      This caught Haru’s attention. “And why is that?”  
      “Oh, stars know,” the noble replied flippantly. “There’s always talks of the routes growing treacherous - entire caravans wiped out by bandits and the like. I don’t follow the subject particularly closely. So what is it that you trade?”  
      “Nothing of import-” “Great and powerful magicks-” Haruka and Rin began simultaneously.   
      “Oh! Really?” the young noble exclaimed, completely disregarding Haruka’s response.   
      “No,” Haruka answered firmly, subtly elbowing Rin in the ribs before he could elaborate.   
      “Are you magi?” he pressed, undeterred. “Can you do a demonstration? I’ve never seen magick before.”  
      The guard glanced their way.   
      “Unfortunately, even if we could, it really isn’t the type of thing to be used without warrant. But fortunately, I have a small assortment of charms and trinkets that can be had for a reasonable price. Bindings for love, luck, success-”  
      “Amazing! How effective are they?”  
      “Well, I’ve heard it said that they work like a charm!”   
      Haru raised an eyebrow at this, though it did little to damper Rin’s enthusiasm.   


      “Young master, if I may,” the guardsman interjected before the noble’s finances could be reduced to ruins. “You will be needed at the palace shortly.”   
      “Oh, I had almost forgotten about that,” he noted dejectedly. “Well. I am Nagisa Al’ar Hazuki, fourth crown prince of Nepthede. I extend an invitation to you travelers-”   
      He hesitated. “Rei, I have nothing scheduled for evening’s meal, do I?”  
      “No, my lord.”   
      “In that case! I invite you to join me for evening’s meal. I wish to hear more of your curious wares and of your journey.   
      Haruka stepped forward to offer a gracious bow. “Your invitation is most gracious for the likes of us, young master. We would be honored to accept.”  
      “Fantastic!” the crown prince exploded. “Every amenity will be seen to.”  
      Just to be sure, Haruka bowed a second time,and Rin joined him in the motion. When dealing with the customs of unfamiliar nobility, it was best to err on the side of courtesy.   
      “I look forward to our meeting! Well met - ah, what were your names?”  
      “Haruka Nanase, envoy of the Sn’Drathi.”  
      “Matsouka Rin, envoy of the Sn’Drathi.”   
      “Well met, Haruka, Matsouka, envoys of the Sn’Drathi. Fortune favor you.”  
      “Well met,” they echoed. “And you as well.”   


      Rin groaned aloud when the pair were sure to be far from earshot. “When did this turn into a diplomatic visit?”  
      “This wouldn’t have happened if you had kept silent.” Haruka countered.  
      “How was I supposed to know? Nine gods, I didn’t bring anything appropriate for a dinner with a crown prince.”  
      Haruka sighed. “Just wear a different outfit and some flashy jewelry. They’ll never know the difference.”  
      “Maybe if we’re lucky, U’thar will finish her hunt early.”  
      “Don’t count on it.” Haruka countered. “We’re committed now. It’s best not to cross royalty. You should know that there’s no telling to what extent they’ll retaliate, and we really can’t afford the time to deal with any complications.”  
      Rin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “So much for the dinner that I had planned.”  
      “Another time then,” Haruka began, preparing to hitch the oxen to their wagon. In a motion unseen by the crowd around them, Haruka ran his fingers along the contours of his partner’s back as he passed. “I’ll be expecting it.”  
      His tone was that of milk and honey, the sweetness blended with powerfully suggestive undercurrents of cinnamon and clove. Rin found himself shivering despite the heat of the day as the shadows of goosebumps spread across the surface of his skin. He froze, transfixed by the molten blue gaze that rose to connect with his own. Their depths resonated with intelligence and veiled passion, speaking of a carefully concealed secret that only the two of them were privy to.  
      A tingle like static electricity flared along the trails of Haruka’s touch in the absence of the fingers that incited it.   
      “R-right…”   


\-------------------------------------------------------------

      Hooded lamps illuminated a path that wound its way through the royal gardens, leading the way to a shelter draped in silks and tapestries. Branches studded in exotic blooms hung low over their heads, scenting the air with their perfume. Birdsong interspersed with shrill shrieks filtered through the foliage, the sources of which could be seen in flashes of bright plumage and glimpses of outstretched wings.   
      The structure ahead was not unlike the tents that royalty slept in during long journeys or dictated from in times of conflict. Ornate rugs were piled high atop the flagstones of the courtyard. A traditionally low table laden with plates and ample servings of carefully arranged delicacies took center stage, surrounded by a generous amount of cushions to recline on as they dined.   


      “But he had constructed his incantations so hastily, he neglected to properly seal off, or finalize the invocation,” Rin described. A servant quietly replaced the dish that he had just taken from with a full one, despite the fact that it was a long way from being depleted.  
      “So, I added the incantation for heat to his own construction, and Haruka formed a binding that caused it to repeat itself endlessly. So as soon as the ice formed, the heat evaporated it and reduced it to steam. Since the other magus was bound to the invocation, it drew from his reserves until he collapsed from the strain of maintaining it.”  
      “Amazing!” Nagisa exclaimed rapturously. “I would have never guessed that magick could be so technical.”  
      Haruka nodded in agreement. “It is not something to be taken lightly. Even the smallest of mistakes can be fatally irreversible, as that particular magus learned.”  
      Nagisa hummed thoughtfully, swirling the wine in his glass. “In any case, I suppose I couldn’t persuade you to give any sort of demonstration, could I?”  
      “My apologies, young master. Even though we are willing, such things are strictly sanctioned.”  
      The crown prince sighed melodramatically and rose to stand. “Very well, then. It can’t be helped.”  
      Haruka stiffened.  
      “I thank you for your company and your tales. Should you be in need, you are welcome to spend the remainder of your time in Nepthede at the palace.”  
      Haruka relaxed, mirroring Rin as he stood.   
      “Many thanks for your offer,” Rin began. “Please understand if our schedule cannot accommodate a night’s stay.”  
      “Ah, I see,” the young prince remarked with some amount of disappointment. “I had hoped to share your company on the morrow. But very well. Well met, Matsouka Rin, Nanase Haruka. I wish you safe travels and fortune. My personal guard shall escort you to the outskirts of the city.”  
      The two magus bowed respectfully. “Well met. You have our gratitude. May our paths cross once again.”  


\-------------------------------------------------------------

      The trip outside the palace was a silent one. The upper districts of the city were as silent as the catacombs at this time of night. The fall of cloven hooves over the flagstones and the rumble of cartwheels echoed like thunder as they made their way through the narrow city streets. Amber lamplight danced across the avenues, illuminating the path before them and the occasional pedestrian swathed in silks against the setting chill of the night. The guardsman - Rei, if Haruka remembered correctly - kept pace alongside them, politely refusing the offer to ride with them when offered.   
      Rin called the draft animals to a halt shortly after the crowded buildings gave way to open space and unpaved road. The occasional pinpricks of light shone from the windows of outlying homes, but except for those and the winding road cutting through the brush, there was nothing to be seen in the depths of the wastes.   
      “Our thanks, friend. We can continue from here.”  
      The guardsman shot them a skeptical look. “Has your caravan left without you? I mean no offense, but surely you don’t plan on crossing the desert in an ox cart.”  
      “We have-” Haruka hesitated. “...alternative transportation. Our thanks for your concern.”  


      Rei made as if to reply, but his attention was caught by something in the direction of the city.   
      “You lot!” he began authoritatively, advancing away from the cart with a hand at his scimitar. “Central district curfew is at sundown-”  
      There was a muffled impact followed by the racket of metal falling on stone. Rin spun around to look behind the wagon, only to come face to face with a drawn blade.  
      “Haru…”  
      “I know.”  


      “Listen, foreigners,” somebody at the other side of the cart grated. “We do this quickly, and no one’s gonna get hurt. Hands off the reins, and get off the cart. Start anything funny, and we’ll see if you can finish it with steel in your throat.”  
      Several figures advanced on horseback to stand before the oxen as he spoke, riders poised to spear the beasts through if they bolted.  


      “I’m afraid we can’t do that,” Haruka began levely.  
      “Off the wagon. _Now_ ,” the man snapped, hostility exploding behind the command.   
      “ _Convitulus marel, y’trish. Mon!_ ” Haruka wove the bindings under his breath, rushing the incantation as fast as he could speak without slurring or tangling the syllables. The air around them began to shimmer, distorting the light in the same manner as heat rising from hot pavement.  
      “What? Run them through.”  
      The thug before Rin snarled, whipping his arm back in the first motion of a fatal strike.   
      “ _Tesh conflaratus!_ ” Rin finished, completing and binding the invocation.   


      The air around the cart exploded.   
      Flame rolled away from the sphere Haruka had defined around them in a torrent, amplified by the raw power supplied by Rin. The wall of fire incinerated everything in close range before breaking into harmless licks and streams of light. Showers of embers rained down, small flecks of heat that burned to nothing in the air like a torrent of falling stars.   
      The oxen bellowed and charged into a headlong rush, dragging the wagon off the road over uneven terrain in their panic. The thunder of hooves followed them as more horseman yet took pursuit, the long-legged Arabians rapidly gaining ground on the laden cart.   


      “Twenty-eight hells,” Rin swore. “Bandits? This close to the city?”  
      “ _Entorum valis maltair,_ ” Haruka began by means of a response. Bursts of static electricity arched through the air around him, illuminating his face in strobe-like flashes.   
      Rin swung an arm over to point behind the cart in a fluid motion, shielding his eyes with his forearm as he did so. “ _Voltare!_ ”   
      Released from the invocation, the gathered energy coiled and burst from Rin’s arm in a blinding bolt of electricity into the darkness. A horse screamed and fell at incredibly close range, the impact of its great body hitting the ground at a dead run strong enough to be felt from their seats in the wagon.   


      “There’s more!”  
      “Another one, then!”   
      Rin swiveled to crouch backwards in his seat. As he shifted his balance, the oxen jumped in their harness, powerful shoulders adjusting to a difference in height. It was the only warning they had before the cart crashed down a ledge, dropping several feet in a heartbeat. The crack of shattering wood echoed like a gunshot as the back axle shattered from the strain of the fall. One wheel tilted crazily, rotating on the spindle like a drunken juggernaut before careening off. The cart hit the ground hard, fully unbalancing Rin. He pitched dangerously to one side, scrabbling for grip before Haruka’s fist tangled in his robes and pulled him back to center.   
      The oxen charged forward recklessly, whipped into full panic and unstoppable despite the force with which Haruka was pulling at their leads. The cart hit a great stone at full speed, tearing great chunks of wood away and snapping the restraints around their load. The crates tilted and slid, threatening to crash off with every vibration that shuddered through the wreck of the wagon.   


      “Rin!”  
      “ _Enstard rentus, infanim!_ ” he barked in response. The crates slammed together as if magnetized, locking to the floor with a binding that could rival the strength of iron chain.   
      “Try to be a little rougher with them, could you? It’s not like they’re fragile or anything,” Haruka snapped. “ _Entorum valis maltair!_ ”  
      Rin looked just in time to catch sight of a horseman poised to swing. “ _Voltare!_ ” The bolt connected with the rider, sending him flying from the saddle. The horse bolted away, tail raised high in terror before it was swallowed by the darkness.   


      “We’re going to lose them at this rate!”  
      “I know!” Rin shouted. It was only a matter of time before the oxen fell or the cart shattered completely, reducing their load, and likely their bodies, to rubble. Every second was a gamble.  
      “ _Entorum valis maltair!_ ”  
      “Twenty eight hells,” Rin cursed, wildly searching out the intended target. Haruka’s control began to deteriorate with each wasted instant. Electricity sparked wildly around him, close to slipping his constraints.   
      “ _Voltare!_ ”  


      Another one fell, the smell of ozone and burning flesh following in the wake of the extinguished life.   
      “How many more?”   
      “ _Entorum valis, singetum ar,_ ” Haruka began.   
      Shit. He had no idea, and the invocation he was readying could very well be more than they could handle at the moment.   
      “ _El mas verlat. Co, sigre na valal,_ ”  
      “ _Eforum angen mo thri, y’tal an orng vlas,_ ” Rin picked up.   
      Energy began to pool above their heads in a swirling current, lancelets striking out from their bindings.  
      “ _Singarum! La! **Voltare!**_ ”  


      Rin could only hope that there were no innocents within their radius as he tied off the invocation. Bolts of electricity screamed into the night, each one searing through the air to hone into their mark as if possessed.   
      Cries rang through the darkness as more fell, yet the thunder of hooves still followed them.   


      “The hell is this? How many of them are there!?” Rin swore.   
      “We need more range! Again!” Haruka commanded, eyes flashing. “ _Entorum valis-”_  
      “Wait!” Rin interrupted. “Stop the cart!”  
      “We can’t just-”  
      “Just stop it! Stop it now!”  
      Haruka shook his head, but began the bindings regardless. “ _Enstarda in filran, u tolmar, ra,_ ”  
      “ _Infanum!_ ” Rin barked. The wagon slammed to a halt as if it had been thrown against a wall, throwing the draft animals into their harnesses hard enough to snap their leathers.   
      Haruka spun to face Rin, eyes speaking of his doubts before he could form the words to express them.   


      “ _To’math cidrisum._ Come, U’thar!” Rin breathed before producing a whistle carved of bone from a chain around his neck.   
      A single, clear note resounded over the dunes. The oxen lurched to their feet and fled as the pursuing horsemen closed in on the immobile cart.   


      The ground exploded as a monstrous maw burst from the side of a great dune, mouth gaping wide to reveal rows of serrated teeth and a cavernous gullet. Horses wheeled and screamed, their riders vainly trying to wheel them around moments before those jaws snapped shut around them.   
      The beast continued along its trajectory, plunging yards deep into the ground. It’s serpentine body undulated as it pulled its head from where it had buried it. Sand streamed from the great dragon’s mouth, leaking from the spaces between its teeth as it snapped its head to the side to expedite the process. Satisfied, U’thar tilted her jaw to swallow her catch.  
      “U’thar! _Release!_ That’s bad form, and you know it,” Rin shouted.   
      With a discontented rumble, she opened her mouth and let the broken bodies fall to ground in a bloody heap.   


      “What a mess,” Haruka noted unhappily, leaving the remnants of the cart behind to survey the damage done. Rin silently moved to stand beside him, offering no comment as his partner offered his respects for those killed.   
      “The gods save your souls, you fools,” Haruka finished under his breath. “Did you really think it worth your life?”  
      “I don’t think that last blessing is canon.”  
      Haruka didn’t respond immediately, looking away from the gruesome scene when he could bear it no longer. Rin gripped his shoulder reassuringly.  
      “What’s done is done. Come. It’s time for us to go.”   


\-------------------------------------------------------------

      Two figures watched the great sand serpent arch through the dunes, plowing through the sand with a speed that could parallel flight. Lanterns hung from the howdah between its shoulders, only visible as flickering points of blue light from this distance.   


      “Such is the power of the Sn’Drasian envoy,” Nagisa contemplated. “Amazing, isn’t it, Rei?”  
      “I cannot condone the measures that were taken to see as much, my lord. There would be outrage if this affair became public knowledge.”  
      “No matter,” Nagisa trailed off, drumming his fingertips on the balcony as the figure of the serpent was lost to the darkness. “No matter at all.”  


**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU LIKED THIS SHIT, LEAVE A FUCKING KUDOS OR A COMMENT OR SOMETHING. Because those make me feel happy inside.  
> I'm legit trying to become the best author on Ao3 (yeah, stop laughing), so reblogs and shares help me immensely. ^^
> 
> I'mma dump [the link to my tumblr](http://vagabonddiesel.tumblr.com/) here, because I'm sick of writing it at the beginning of each chapter. You should check it out, I embarrass myself and you can watch me shitpost about gay anime boys and whatever other stupid things I find entertaining. It's a good time.  
> 


End file.
